College Cup Berth on the Line for Men's Soccer at No. 6 St. John's
12/3/2003 2:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Creighton at #6 St. John's ? NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
Friday, Dec. 5 ? Belson Stadium ? Jamaica, N.Y. ? 7:30 p.m. (EST)
This Week: The Bluejays have advanced to their fifth NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, where they will face sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded St. John's for the second consecutive year in the tournament. The Jays and Red Storm will face off at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday in Jamaica, N.Y., with a berth to the 2003 College Cup (Final Four) on the line. CU will be looking to appear in its second consecutive College Cup and third in the past four seasons, while St. John's is looking to return for the first time since 2001.
Last Game: Creighton continued its road domination in the NCAA Tournament, winning at Virginia, 3-1, last Sunday. The Bluejays and Cavaliers were scoreless at the half, with each team attempting only two shots in the first 45 minutes. UVA took the lead with the match's first goal in the 63rd minute. CU answered with the equalizer in the 75th minute, when Damien Westfield found the back of the net. Westfield scored again just two minutes later to give CU the lead and Jered Turner added an insurance goal in the 86th minute. Michael Kraus assisted on both Westfield goals. The Jays out-shot UVA, 12-9, while CU was whistled for 23 fouls to just 10 by the Cavaliers. Andrew Brown made four saves in goal in the win, as CU became the first team to score on UVA keeper Ryan Burke in the tournament.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 113-37-14 (.732) record in his eighth season at CU. His overall mark is 307-153-44 (.653) in his 26th year of coaching. Warming, the all-time winningest head coach at CU, has guided his teams to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, is a four-time finalist for National Coach of the Year and was the MVC Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993.
Scouting St. John's (15-5-3): The Red Storm have advanced to their fourth NCAA quarterfinals since their 1996 National Championship. By earning the No. 6 seed in the tournament, St. John's received a first-round bye before eliminating Connecticut on penalty kicks in the second round. SJU and UConn played to a 0-0 tie, but advanced 4-2 in shootouts after calling on back-up goalkeeper Guy Hertz to face the penalty kicks. SJU then defeated UC Santa Barbara 3-2 in double overtime last Sunday. The Red Storm received two scores from Ryan Kelly and one from Simone Salinno. Kelly's second tally came with just over four minutes remaining in the second overtime to give SJU the win. Salinno leads the team with 13 goals and 29 points, while four other Red Storm players have double figure point totals. Both of SJU's NCAA tournament games have been at home, where the Red Storm is 9-0-1 this year. SJU is scoring nearly two goals per game and went the first 20 matches of this season without being shutout. Bill Gaudette owns a 0.79 goals against average, but has needed to make only 35 saves in over 1700 minutes of play this year. Defender Chris Wingert is a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and was the Big East Defensiver Player of the Year for the regular-season Big East Champions. Wingert was also named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year.
Creighton-St. John's Series: The Bluejays and Red Storm have met twice before, both contests coming in the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Bluejays ended St. John's season on Dec. 1 in the third round of the tournament. Freshman Mehdi Ballouchy's game-winning goal in overtime helped CU advance to the quarterfinals. The Jays and Red Storm also met in the 1996 College Cup Semifinals in Richmond, Va. SJU prevailed 2-1 on Dec. 13 en route to their first national title.
Last Year at St. John's: Creighton out-shot St. John's 12-7, while only two SJU shots were on goal in the 1-0 CU overtime win. Julian Nash led all players with four shots. The win was Bob Warming's 100th at Creighton. David Wagenfuhr was knocked out of most of the match, after receiving an elbow to the head caused a concussion to the all-region midfielder.
More CU-SJU History: Creighton and St. John's have another tiny chapter together in soccer history. In the 2001 NCAA tournament, St. John's played host to Creighton and Massachusetts' first round match on Nov. 23. The Jays lost to UMass, 1-0. The Red Storm then eliminated UMass en route to their College Cup appearance.
We're the One: Since opening Belson Stadium last September, St. John's has lost just one home match - Creighton's NCAA Tournament win over the Red Storm last Dec. 1. SJU is 15-1-3 at its new on-campus home, while CU won its only match there.
Second Round Summary: Creighton and No. 14-seed San Diego played to a 1-1 tie at the end of two overtime periods on Nov. 26. The Jays converted each of their five shootout opportunities, while CU goalkeeper Andrew Brown stopped the fourth USD attempt to give the Jays a 5-3 advantage in the shootout. The Toreros out-shot the Jays, 11-1, in the first half but the match was scoreless until the 51st minute when USD jumped ahead. The Jays scored the equalizer in the 58th minute, as Matt Jewett scored his second goal of the season. CU played a man down for the final six minutes of regulation and overtime after Matt Wieland received a red card in the 84th minute. The match also witnessed 55 fouls and eight yellow cards.
First Round Summary: Creighton returned to game action for the first time in two weeks and showed no sign of rust, crushing UMKC 6-0 at the Creighton Soccer Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 22. After a scoreless first half, the Bluejays erupted for six second-half goals, led by Brian Biggerstaff's hat trick. On top of their explosive offense, the Bluejays shut down UMKC, allowing no shots on goal during the match. Goalkeepers Guido Leon and Andrew Brown shared the shutout, each playing one half in the win.
Road Warriors: Prior to last year's home NCAA match against UW-Milwaukee, the Bluejays had played 16 consecutive NCAA matches away from Omaha. Since 2000, Creighton leads the NCAA with seven road victories in the tournament, not including a neutral site College Cup win in 2000. Including the trip to St. John's, the Jays have now traveled 6,635 miles in the NCAA Tournament this year.
New Decade, Same Success: Creighton and Indiana each have 10 wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2000 to lead all programs. CU's seven road NCAA wins since 2000 are more than 46 programs' TOTAL NCAA tournament wins in that span (not including teams which have not qualified).
Deja Vu: CU's tournament is mirroring its 2000 run to the national championship match. In 2000 the Bluejays went on the road to defeat San Diego on Nov. 26 - the exact date CU knocked off USD this season. CU's next match in 2000 was at Virginia - exactly like this season. The Jays ended Virginia's season in 2000 and 2003.
More Similarities: CU's trip to St. John's marks the third consecutive season the Jays have played in New York in the NCAA Tournament. In 2001, the Jays lost to UMass in a first-round match hosted by St. John's, while defeating SJU last year.
NCAA Tournament History: The Bluejays are appearing in their 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament, where they now own an all-time record of 15-11-2 (advancing in shootouts with both ties). The Jays have advanced to three College Cup Final Fours, 1996, 2000 and 2002. (See notes page 5 for complete NCAA history).
High Five: Creighton remains one of five teams in the nation to have appeared in each of the past 12 NCAA Tournaments. The Bluejays are joined by Indiana, St. John's, UCLA and Virginia.
Against the Field: Creighton is 5-3-1 against teams in this season's NCAA Tournament field. The Jays defeated Portland, SMU, UMKC, San Diego and Virginia. CU has tied Santa Clara and lost at Loyola Marymount, at Tulsa and against Brown in the Yale Classic.
Wieland Returns: 2003 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Matt Wieland, will return to the pitch for CU's match at St. John's after sitting out the Jays' win at Virginia. Wieland received two yellow cards in CU's match at San Diego, forcing the Jays to play down the final 26:05 of that match and then without their star defender at UVA last Sunday.
Postseason Player: Senior Matt Jewett continues to prove his worth in the postseason as he's done throughout his career. Jewett's first career goal came against San Diego in the 2000 NCAA Tournament and then tallied three of his four goals in 2002 in the postseason. Nine of his 12 points last year came in the MVC and NCAA Tournaments. This year Jewett has dished three assists in the tournament and scored CU's lone goal against San Diego. His six career NCAA assists are a school record.
Most Tenured: Senior David Wagenfuhr has started all 21 matches this season and has now played in 89 career matches, more than any Bluejay in school history.
Offense Arrives: With CU's six-goal outburst against UMKC in the first round and 10 goals total in the NCAA Tournament, the Bluejay offense has come to life. With 10 goals and 31 points in the postseason, 29.4 percent of CU's goals and 31 percent of its points this season have come in the last three games.
Shot Down: The Bluejays shut down the UMKC offense in the first round, not surrendering a shot on goal to the Kangaroos. It marked the second match this season CU held an opponent without a shot on goal. CU held a 23-6 edge in total shots against UMKC on Nov. 22.
Biggs' Big Day: Brian Biggerstaff exploded onto the CU offensive scene against UMKC in the first round, netting the first hat trick in Bluejay NCAA Tournament history. Prior to the match he had just one career goal. His three goals and six points in an NCAA match set school records.
Blowouts: Two of CU's last four NCAA Tournament victories have witnessed the Bluejays score six goals. Last year in the quarterfinals, the Jays won 6-2 at Boston College and then crushed UMKC 6-0 last Saturday in the first round for the largest margin of victory in CU postseason history.
7th Havens: Shane Havens has had a memorable senior season. He was named to the MVC honorable mention squad, CoSIDA Academic All-District team and was named the first Academic All-American in CU soccer history. He carries a 3.83 grade point average in environmental sciences and was named to the third-team. He also scored his first collegiate goal in CU's NCAA first-round win over UMKC.
Warming Trends: Bob Warming is appearing in his 10th NCAA Tournament as a head coach; six with Creighton, four with Saint Louis. He's led two teams to the College Cup Final Four; Saint Louis 1997, Creighton 2002.
Warming in the NCAA: Head Coach Bob Warming is now 9-7-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. He is 6-5-1 with Creighton in the NCAA tourney and 3-2-2 at Saint Louis.
Championship U: Perhaps CU should stand for Championship University in Omaha, as the Bluejays claimed their sixth Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship and first since 1996 this fall. Since the MVC began sponsoring a men's soccer championship in 1991, Creighton has claimed 14 of the 26 Valley regular-season and tournament titles.
Perfect October: For the second consecutive season the Bluejays recorded an undefeated October in MVC play. Creighton went 7-0-1 this October, while the Jays logged a 6-0-1 mark in October 2002. With six shutouts in October this season, the Jays have held opponents scoreless in nine of their last 15 matches in October. The Jays have now gone unbeaten in October on six occasions (1992, 93, 95, 97, 02, 03).
Good Trend: The last two times Creighton went undefeated in a single month, the Jays have gone on to appear in the College Cup. CU went undefeated in November 2000 en route to a Final Four appearance and then went unbeaten last October prior to appearing in their third NCAA Final Four. CU went 7-0-1 this October.
NCAA Ranks: CU's overall goals against average of 0.68 ranked 15th in the NCAA heading into the NCAA Tournament. Creighton allowed only four goals in MVC play this fall, topping the league with a 0.43 GAA in conference play. CU recorded six shutouts in nine MVC games this season, nine shutouts total.
NCAA Tournament at Home: CU's match with UMKC in the first round was the fifth NCAA Tournament match the Jays have hosted. The Jays are now 2-3-0 at home in the NCAA tourney, with their first win coming last year against UW-Milwaukee on Nov. 27.
Home Dominance: Since 1990 the Bluejays are 109-18-6 (.842) at home, including a 7-2-2 mark in their debut season at the Creighton Soccer Field this year. The Jays have not lost more than two matches at home since going 7-3-0 in 1996.
Battling the Best: Of CU's 21 matches this year, 12 opponents have been ranked in the NSCAA/adidas Top-25 at one point in 2003, including four of nine MVC opponents. The Jays have battled three teams while they've been ranked in the top-25 this season. CU has defeated No. 15 Furman and 22nd-ranked Bradley, and lost to 17th-ranked Brown this fall, moving their all-time record against Top 25 opponents to 35-31-6, including a 5-3-1 record against ranked opponents in 2002.
Same, but Different: Creighton's 7-1-1 MVC record this year marks the second consecutive season the Jays have finished with 22 points in the Valley. In each of the last two seasons the Jays tied their first Valley match with Drake, then notched seven consecutive wins before losing 2-1 in the season finale. This season's 22 points were good for the regular-season championship however, while last year CU settled for a second-place finish.
500 Club: Creighton's regular-season finale at Tulsa (Nov. 2) was the 500th career match for Head Coach Bob Warming. Warming's 305 career wins rank 15th among active Division I head coaches.
Freaky Fridays: The Jays' goal in their 1-0 victory over Evansville (Oct. 10) was the first score the Bluejays netted on a Friday this season. The Jays had attempted over 90 shots and had been shut out in their first five Friday matches, before Jarod Tarver found the back of the net in the shutout win.
My Cousin Vinny: Bluejay cousins Vince and Tony Odorisio have made a strong impact on the 2003 squad. Tony has started 16 of CU's 21 matches on CU's MVC-leading defense and was named to the MVC All-Freshman team, while Vince is fourth on the team with three goals and eight assists.
Youth Movement: Creighton's leading scoredr is a freshman, Michael Kraus. Sophomores Brian Biggerstaff, Vince Odorisio and Matt Wieland each rank among CU leaders in scoring as well.
Shutout Streaks: The Bluejays notched two streaks of three consecutive shutouts this year. The first streak lasted more than 374 minutes, before being snapped at Vanderbilt (Oct. 17) and the second streak lasted nearly 296 minutes before Tulsa broke the streak on Nov. 2.
National Recognition: Freshman Michael Kraus was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 27 after his three goals and one assist against Bradley and Eastern Illinois. Sophomore Matt Wieland was honored by Soccer America on its National Team of the Week for his game-winning goal and two assists and his defensive efforts against BU and EIU during the same span.
That's a Winner: Freshman Jarod Tarver has scored three goals in his rookie campaign, all of which have proved to be the game-winner for the Bluejays. Three of Damien Westfield's four goals have accounted for game-winners this fall.
Memorable First: Sophomore Brian Biggerstaff's first career goal was an important one, serving as the game-winner in double overtime at Vanderbilt (Oct. 17).
Attendance Figures: The Bluejays are averaging 1,298 fans per home match this fall. That attendance figure is the highest since CU averaged 1,488 fans during the 1999 season. The Jays have drawn two crowds of more than 2,000 this season for the first time since 1998.
Rookie Sensation: Freshman Michael Kraus is starting to remind people of another talented Bluejay forward from the banks of the Mississippi River. The Memphis native leads the team with six goals, seven assists and 19 points. He is the first CU rookie with five goals and double digit point totals since All-American Mike Tranchilla (Barnhart, Mo.) scored five goals and totaled 15 points in his debut season in 1999. Tranchilla went on to establish MVC records with 55 goals and 140 career points.
Milestone Victory: With his win over Southwest Missouri State on Oct. 12, Head Coach Bob Warming moved into some exclusive company by notching his 300th career victory. Warming, now in his 26th year of head coaching at the collegiate level has enjoyed stints at Transylvania, Berry, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Saint Louis and Creighton in accumulating his victories. He is now one of 20 Division I coaches all-time with at least 300 victories and ranks 15th among active coaching wins in Division I.
For Starters: When Creighton used the same starting line up for its games with Evansville and SMS on Oct 10 and 12, respectively, it marked the first time this fall the Jays had used the same 11 starters in consecutive matches. The Jays have used 21 different players in the starting line up this fall.
10-10-10: The Bluejays netted their 10th goal of the season in their 10th game on Oct. 10 against Evansville. This season marks the longest it has taken CU to score its 10th goal of the season. See below.
Year Game Scored 10th Goal
2003 10th
2002 6th
2001 5th
2000 4th
1999 3rd
1998 4th
1997 5th
1996 4th
1995 4th
1994 5th
1993 5th
1992 2nd
1991 3rd
1990 4th
Fit to be Tied: Creighton's four ties this season has established a school record for stalemates in a season.
Out of the Gates: The Jays have been slow out of the gates in recent years, mainly due to a strong non-conference slate. With a 3-3-2 mark prior to MVC play this year, the Jays are 11-9-4 in their pre-conference portion of the schedule since 2001. Nine of those 24 matches were against Top 25 opponents and 16-of-24 matches were against teams that were ranked at some point in the season. This fall, six of CU's first eight matches came against once nationally-ranked foes this season.
Jays Open New Field: CU's 0-0 tie against Butler on Aug. 31 was witnessed by 3,483 fans at the new Creighton Soccer Field. The attendance was the fourth largest home crowd in CU history and the largest since Sept. 1994.
MVC Honors: Seven men's soccer players were honored by the Missouri Valley Conference when the postseason awards were handed out this year. Senior midfielder David Wagenfuhr and sophomore defender Matt Wieland were named to the all-MVC First-Team. Seniors Shane Havens, Matt Jewett and Matt Thomas were each tabbed to the honorable mention squad. Rookies Michael Kraus and Tony Odorisio were named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Wieland is Top MVC Defender: Sophomore Matt Wieland has been named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Jays to six shutouts in nine MVC games and a MVC best 0.43 goals against average in conference play. He is the first CU defender to win the honor since All-American David Wright in 1997. He joins current CU assistant coach Kevin Doyle (1992), Ira Philson (1993), and Jay Fitzgerald (1995) as past Bluejay recipients.
Wags' Honors: David Wagenfuhr became the eighth Bluejay to earn first-team all-MVC honors three times in a career. He's the first Jay to appear on the first-team three times in a career since Brian Mullan (1998-2000).
Jewett is Tournament Tested: Last season Matt Jewett scored three of his four goals and nine of his 12 points in the postseason. This season he has been named to the Diadora Challenge, Ameritas Classic and MVC All-Tournament Teams.
